Workers in pesticide
manufacturing industries are constantly exposed to pesticides. Genetic bio
monitoring provides an early identification of potential cancer and genetic diseases in exposed populations. The objectives of this bio
monitoring study were to assess DNA da
mage through co
met assay in blood sa
mples collected fro
m industry workers and co
mpare these results with those of classical analytical techniques used for co
mplete blood count analysis.
Methods
Samples from controls (m>nm> = 20) and exposed workers (m>nm> = 38) from an industrial area in Multan, Pakistan, were subjected to various tests. Malathion residues in blood samples were measured by gas chromatography.
Results
The exposed workers who were employed in the pesticide manufacturing industry for a longer period (i.e., 13–25 years) had significantly higher DNA tail length (7.04 μm) than the controls (0.94 μm). Workers in the exposed group also had higher white blood cell and red blood cell counts, and lower levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), MCH concentration, and mean corpuscular volume in comparison with normal levels for these parameters. Malathion was not detected in the control group. However, in the exposed group, 72% of whole blood samples had malathion with a mean value of 0.14 mg/L (range 0.01–0.31 mg/L).
Conclusion
We found a strong correlation (m>Rm>2 = 0.91) between DNA damage in terms of tail length and malathion concentration in blood. Intensive efforts and trainings are thus required to build awareness about safety practices and to change industrial workers' attitude to prevent harmful environmental and anthropogenic effects.